Typically, if one wishes to publish an authored work for commercial sale they must do so by submitting that work to a publishing house. Within the publishing house the authored work is subjected to a structured procedure in preparation for commercial publication. In this application, the term “commercial-grade publication” is defined as an authored work prepared for commercial publication, such as a book, magazine, newspaper or pamphlet, for example.
At the publishing house, a work is first edited for content. After it is edited for content, the work is typically evaluated for marketing purposes. Evaluating a work's marketability identifies whether the work will be profitable and, thus, commercially successful for the publishing house. To add commercial appeal, marketing personnel at the publishing house establish a “look and feel” of the publication by developing the layout of the authored work, sometimes with critical interaction from the author. Establishing a layout involves developing artwork for a cover as well as typesetting text onto pages. Often marketing personnel conduct standard marketing tests outside the publishing house to determine potential commercial success of an authored work in terms of audience appeal of the layout as well as the content.
Upon completion of the marketing evaluation, a bookproof or “galley” is made. A galley copy is a comprehensive final draft of the authored work before publication. The galley copy is reviewed for additional, often minor, revisions by the author, the publishing house as well as by experts that add marketing appeal to the galley such as notable experts in the galley's related field or even popular celebrities. Then, on successful review of the galley, the resulting commercial-grade publication is advanced for publication. Publication involves reproducing the commercial-grade publication for sale.
A publishing house transports commercial-grade publications from the printers to various outlets, such as retail bookstores or libraries, through established distribution channels for commercial transport, such as by truck or cargo plane, for example. Typically, a larger publishing house has more profitable channels of distribution as compared with smaller publishing houses. In short, after an authored work is submitted, a publishing house ultimately dictates the commercial value of that work with minimal or no further input from the author. In return for its investment, the publishing house receives a profitshare from the commercial-grade work.
Thus, as a matter of saving cost, labor, and time, there is a need for an Internet based system for subjecting an authored work to a structured procedure similar to that of an existing publishing house in preparation and selling of commercial publications.